My Absolute Favorite

WARNING: LONG POST AHEAD!

Those of you lucky enough to know me back in middle school were fortunate enough to know me during my second great obsession since The Lion King (of my childhood). I mean I had some little obsessions since then, but I had never really been so consumed with something like I was with The Lion King in the very early years of my life until I pulled a certain book off the school library shelf that fateful day in the seventh grade... The Scarlet Pimpernel.

When I removed that novel from the shelf that day so many years ago, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I mean it was a school assignment! We were supposed to pick a book from the library, read it, then take a test on it on the school computers to determine how good of a reader we were. Then repeat the process all year. I was at the highest reading level: a white star, so there wasn't a huge selection to pick from since not very many students reached that level. There were books like Moby Dick, Dracula, some Edgar Allen Poe, a couple of Charles Dickens books, but the majority of them were uninteresting looking books (and believe me, most of them lived up to their titles, covers, and back-of-the-book summaries). Since I was a fast reader, I read all the interesting looking ones right away and was soon stuck with the non-interesting ones. I would spend the majority of our reading block scanning the bookshelf, trying to will the books to suddenly become more appealing. I would eventually have to pick one of the boring books (making sure it was shorter and not one of the dictionary length ones) and just have to force myself to get through it so I would't fail the reading course (we would get points for every test we took).

Eventually one day, I was scanning the bookshelf as usual when I came across a small, but rather thick, white, hardback novel titled, The Scarlet Pimpernel. I had heard the name before, but couldn't recall where and had absolutely no idea what the book was about whatsoever. There wasn't much of a summary on the back, just something about the French Revolution (it seriously didn't give any details to the actual plot). It was literally like two or three lines long. But since I had actually heard the title before, I decided to give it a whirl. So I sat down and began to read it... and it sucked. Yeah, you were expecting me to say I was immediately enthralled weren't you? Nope. I was bored to tears. It started out describing... I couldn't even get through enough of it to find out. Paris, September 1792. That much I was sure because that's what the title of the chapter was. But I just could not focus enough to really understand exactly what was going on. There were no firm characters immediately introduced. There was no obvious plot. And there were these descriptions that just went on for pages and pages. I didn't even finish the first chapter before reading block was over so I stuffed it into my backpack and left.

That particular week, my parents were out of town, so I was staying with my grandparents. I remember exactly. I was waiting in their car in the parking lot of Target one afternoon after school, trying for like the third or fourth time to try and get through the first chapter of that darn book without success.I even tried skipping to the next chapter, but there was nothing there either, just more descriptions, and confusing and seemingly empty dialogue. Where was the plot!? Then my grandparents returned from their errand. I asked my grandpa (who knows literally everything, I kid you not) if he knew what The Scarlet Pimpernel was. Of course he did. He explained briefly what it was about to me as well as what the French Revolution was. His little description sparked my interest. I loved a good mystery and I loved a good historic fiction. I guessed I could give it another try.

The next day in reading block, I tried again. I managed to get through the first chapter. Hey, something actually happened there at the end. It's not all descriptions after all (and the descriptions actually did set the mood quite well now that I understood), then I read the second chapter. Hey, there's some characters (and that dialogue actually has some important stuff in there)! Third chapter. Plot development! I'm not sure how far I got, but I was definitely intrigued with it by the time we left the library.

So there you have it. The tale in full of how it all began. I did finish the book eventually. It didn't take long, especially once the main plot picked up. The author is quite good at keeping you in suspense. It's an ingenious book!

Once I finished it, I began looking up movie versions. There are several. I managed to get my hands on two (1934 and 1982) and watched one online (lucky I didn't actually purchase that one because it was AWFUL! Ugh! I can't even fully express the abomination that was the 1999 mini series). I won't bore you (or scare you) with the details of my obsession beyond that. But know that it was extreme, long, and intense.

So... what is The Scarlet Pimpernel?

It takes place during the Reign of Terror of the French Revolution. A band of Englishmen led by a mysterious leader is helping French aristocrats escape France and their fate at the guillotine. This mysterious leader is only known as the Scarlet Pimpernel because of the scrap of paper he leaves behind every time he strikes, with a little red star-shaped flower on it (al-la Zorro's "Z"). The plot centers around a French woman who recently married an English aristocrat, who is blackmailed into spying on the English to find out the identity of the Scarlet Pimpernel. There's also a subplot involving the woman trying to sort out her feelings towards her estranged husband, but I won't get into that.

The book is incredibly well written to keep you wondering who the Scarlet Pimpernel could possibly be and what his plans are. Then when you eventually find out, and you look back on past events and all of it becomes so perfectly clear, it becomes so painfully obvious the next time you read it (it's almost comical that the other characters don't notice any of it). These painfully obvious things are so cleverly disguised in plain sight as you read, you just pay them no heed, or they just don't seem to connect, or you just skim over that one tiny little detail the author mentioned and it becomes so majorly important later. It's seriously a brilliant book!

The characters are great too. All of them! They're flawed, have depth, emotional turmoil, are comical, etc. Sir Percy (main character's husband) in particular is a blessing from the literature gods (on the same level as Mr. Darcy. Oh yes, that high)! He's mostly there for comedy (and boy oh boy does he serve that role well XDD), but as you read on, you find he has a lot more depth and emotion than his initial appearance shows. He's the one that wrote that all-too famous poem from the book about the Scarlet Pimpernel. "All done in the tying of a cravat" he claims: We seek him here, we seek him there, Those Frenchies seek him everywhere. Is he is heaven?-- Is he in hell? That demmed, elusive Pimpernel!

Marguerite (our main character) is a very flawed character. She's often displayed as a much more sympathetic and innocent character in the movies, but in reality she actually kind of had what was coming to her. She's not exactly a mean person, but she's definitely not always the nicest of people (in the beginning at least. Character development!). And she's definitely very proud. Of course, she cares deeply for those she loves and tries to do what she thinks is best.

Chauvelin, the villain, is so delightfully wicked you can't help but despise him. He doesn't have a whole lot of depth, but he is definitely a very good villain. He is very threatening and disturbingly sly. He's not necessarily a smart character (at least not as smart as our cunning and daring hero), but all the power he holds is what the majority of his menacing... ness comes from. All the descriptions of him and his dialogue just make you absolutely fear and detest him.

Now, I'm not going to tell you who the Scarlet Pimpernel is, but just know that he is the most awesome character in the book! (Because's he's invisible for like half the time). He is actually the first character you are introduced to since the novel opens with one of his exploits in Paris.

Anthony Andrews and Jane Seymour as Sir Percy
and Marguerite in the 1982 version

As to the movies, you know who the Scarlet Pimpernel is right from the start and he becomes the main character, so you follow him through most of the films rather than Marguerite. So if you want a truly amazing experience with the book, I recommend reading it before watching any of the movies.

Just as a side note regarding the movies, the 1982 version is the best. I absolutely ADORE that film! It's in my top three favorite movies of all time. It's got a definite 80's feel to it with the big hair and the music, etc. But it's fantastically done (even with that wonderful 80's over-the-top drama and cheesiness. But you know what? It works in this film. Because it's supposed to be dramatic and over the top.)

I also really like the 1934 version. It's not as well done as the '82 version, but give it some credit because it was made in the 30's after all. It's actually pretty well done considering that factor. The dialogue is why I really like it. It's brilliantly written and not completely cheesy like a lot of 30's dramas are. Of course the acting is even more over the top than the '82 version.

Leslie Howard and Merle Oberon as Sir Percy and Marguerite in the 1934 version

Then the 1999 version. Ugggh! *pukes* The characters are the worst part. It's like they purposely went out and cast the complete opposite of what the book describes. OK, so usually I can put up with a character

Richard E. Grant and Elizabeth McGovern as Sir Percy
and Marguerite in the 1999 version

looking different as long as they play the role well. But NOOOO! They all played their roles terribly! Or maybe it was just the writing. Just argh! All of it was a completely different story just with the same name. Like the writers didn't understand the original story at all. They turned it into an action adventure story with loads of sex thrown in. Like the Scarlet Pimpernel never dressed up, not once! He would simply walk down through the streets in the dead of night like a creepy pedophile and just stab like a million soldiers willy-nilly. Just NO! And there were so many random sex scenes. WHY!? And Sir Percy. Dear, dear Sir Percy, my favorite character... disgracefully ruined. Oh, they made him foppish like he was supposed to be, but in a different way. An entirely wrong way. The book always emphasizes how lazy and nonchalant he is, so what does the movie do? Makes him hyper and overly-enthusiastic. I could go on with this abomination of a film, but I'll stop.

Anyways... the book itself is utterly amazing! And many of the movies are great. There's also a stage musical (I haven't seen it, but I've heard many of the songs. I hear it's good though).

To sum up: fantastic! Mystery, adventure, romance, suspense... it's got it all! So if you haven't read this book or at least seen a movie version (the 1999 version DOES NOT count!), you need to rethink your life choices!

A fan-made trailer (yes. I made it)